Phytosterol profiles of common foods and estimated natural intake of

plant sterols and stanols, 4-desmethylsterols and 4,4'-dimethylsterols, and free and. 185 esterified phytosterols. 186. 2.7 Statistical analysis. 187...
0 downloads 6 Views 2MB Size
Subscriber access provided by UNIV OF DURHAM

Article

Phytosterol profiles of common foods and estimated natural intake of different structures and forms in China Mengmeng Wang, Weisu Huang, Yinzhou Hu, Liangxiao Zhang, Ya-Fang Shao, Meng Wang, Fang Zhang, Ziyan Zhao, Xiaohong Mei, Tao Li, Donghui Wang, Ying Liang, Jing Li, Yining Huang, Liuquan Zhang, Tao Xu, Huaxin Song, Yongheng Zhong, and Baiyi Lu J. Agric. Food Chem., Just Accepted Manuscript • DOI: 10.1021/acs.jafc.7b05009 • Publication Date (Web): 03 Feb 2018 Downloaded from http://pubs.acs.org on February 18, 2018

Just Accepted “Just Accepted” manuscripts have been peer-reviewed and accepted for publication. They are posted online prior to technical editing, formatting for publication and author proofing. The American Chemical Society provides “Just Accepted” as a service to the research community to expedite the dissemination of scientific material as soon as possible after acceptance. “Just Accepted” manuscripts appear in full in PDF format accompanied by an HTML abstract. “Just Accepted” manuscripts have been fully peer reviewed, but should not be considered the official version of record. They are citable by the Digital Object Identifier (DOI®). “Just Accepted” is an optional service offered to authors. Therefore, the “Just Accepted” Web site may not include all articles that will be published in the journal. After a manuscript is technically edited and formatted, it will be removed from the “Just Accepted” Web site and published as an ASAP article. Note that technical editing may introduce minor changes to the manuscript text and/or graphics which could affect content, and all legal disclaimers and ethical guidelines that apply to the journal pertain. ACS cannot be held responsible for errors or consequences arising from the use of information contained in these “Just Accepted” manuscripts.

Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry is published by the American Chemical Society. 1155 Sixteenth Street N.W., Washington, DC 20036 Published by American Chemical Society. Copyright © American Chemical Society. However, no copyright claim is made to original U.S. Government works, or works produced by employees of any Commonwealth realm Crown government in the course of their duties.

Page 1 of 42

Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry

Engineering Laboratory of Intelligent Food Technology and Equipment, Key Laboratory for Agro-Products Postharvest Handling of Ministry of Agriculture, Key Laboratory for Agro-Products Nutritional Evaluation of Ministry of Agriculture,Zhejiang Key Laboratory for Agro-Food Processing, Fuli Institute of Food Science Song, Huaxin; Zhejiang University, College of Biosystems Engineering and Food Science Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China, National Engineering Laboratory of Intelligent Food Technology and Equipment, Key Laboratory for Agro-Products Postharvest Handling of Ministry of Agriculture, Key Laboratory for Agro-Products Nutritional Evaluation of Ministry of Agriculture,Zhejiang Key Laboratory for Agro-Food Processing, Fuli Institute of Food Science Zhong, Yongheng; Zhejiang University, College of Biosystems Engineering and Food Science Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China, National Engineering Laboratory of Intelligent Food Technology and Equipment, Key Laboratory for Agro-Products Postharvest Handling of Ministry of Agriculture, Key Laboratory for Agro-Products Nutritional Evaluation of Ministry of Agriculture,Zhejiang Key Laboratory for Agro-Food Processing, Fuli Institute of Food Science Lu, Baiyi; Zhejiang University, College of Biosystems Engineering and Food Science Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China, National Engineering Laboratory of Intelligent Food Technology and Equipment, Key Laboratory for Agro-Products Postharvest Handling of Ministry of Agriculture, Key Laboratory for Agro-Products Nutritional Evaluation of Ministry of Agriculture,Zhejiang Key Laboratory for Agro-Food Processing, Fuli Institute of Food Science

ACS Paragon Plus Environment

Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry

Page 2 of 42 1

1

Title

2

Phytosterol profiles of common foods and estimated natural intake of different

3

structures and forms in China

4

Author names

5

Mengmeng Wanga, Weisu Huangb, Yinzhou Hua, Liangxiao Zhangc, Yafang Shaod,

6

Meng Wange, Fang Zhangf, Ziyan Zhaog, Xiaohong Meih, Tao Lii, Donghui Wangj,

7

Ying Liangk, Jing Lil, Yining Huangb, Liuquan Zhanga, Tao Xua, Huaxin Songa,

8

Yongheng Zhonga, Baiyi Lua*

9

Author Affiliations

10

a

11

Hangzhou 310058, China, National Engineering Laboratory of Intelligent Food

12

Technology and Equipment, Key Laboratory for Agro-Products Postharvest Handling

13

of Ministry of Agriculture, Key Laboratory for Agro-Products Nutritional Evaluation

14

of Ministry of Agriculture,Zhejiang Key Laboratory for Agro-Food Processing, Fuli

15

Institute of Food Science

16

b

17

Hangzhou 310018, China

18

c

19

430062, China

20

d

China National Rice Research Institute, Hangzhou 310006, China

21

e

Beijing Research Center for Agricultural Standards and Testing, Beijing 100097,

College of Biosystems Engineering and Food Science Zhejiang University,

Zhejiang Economic & Trade Polytechnic, Department of Applied Technology,

Oil Crops Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Wuhan

ACS Paragon Plus Environment

Page 3 of 42

Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry 2

22

China

23

f

Beijing University of Technology, Beijing 100124, China

24

g

Southwest University, Chongqing 400715, China

25

h

China agricultural University, Beijing 100083, China

26

i

Chinese Academy of Tropical Agricultural Science, Haikou 571101, China

27

j

Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences Institute of Agro-Products Processing

28

Science and Technology, Beijing 100193, China

29

k

30

China

31

l

32

Xingcheng 125100, China

33

Corresponding author

34

Baiyi Lu.

35

College of Biosystems Engineering and Food Science Zhejiang University, No.866

36

Yuhangtang Road, Xihu District, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310058, P. R. China

37

E-mail address: [email protected]

38

Abstract

39

Phytosterols are well-known for their cholesterol-lowering effects, and the structures

40

and forms of phytosterols affect their bioactivity. We aimed to illustrate the

41

phytosterol profiles in common foods and estimate their natural intake in five

42

geographical regions and among different age groups in China. In total, 12

43

phytosterols in free and esterified forms of 119 foods from five regions across China

Key Laboratory of Food Quality and Safety of Jiangsu Province, Nanjing 210014

The Research Institute of Pomology, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences,

ACS Paragon Plus Environment

Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry

Page 4 of 42 3

44

were examined using gas chromatography–mass spectrometry. Then, the dietary

45

intake of phytosterols was calculated combined with the dietary foods intake data of

46

Chinese people. Total Phytosterol content was highest in vegetable oils (150.4–1230.9

47

mg/100 g), followed by legumes (129.6−275.6 mg/100 g), nuts (18.9−255.2 mg/100

48

g), and cereals (11.9–93.8 mg/100 g). Vegetables and fruits contained lower contents

49

of total phytosterols. Phytosterols were mainly esterified in most common food except

50

in nuts. The predominant phytosterols were β-sitosterol, campesterol, and stigmasterol,

51

all of which belonged to plant sterols and 4-desmethylsterols. Total phytosterol intake

52

varied

53

mg/standard-person(sp)/day, with the highest intake in Beijing, followed by

54

Hangzhou, Wuhan, Chongqing, and Guangzhou. However, phytosterol proportion was

55

similar across regions, with β-sitosterols accounting for 46.5%–50.3% of the natural

56

intake.

57

4-desmethylsterols in esterified form (61.9%–74.6%). At the age of 2–70 years,

58

phytosterol intake ranged from 154.3 mg/day to 348.0 mg/day in the national scale.

59

Keywords: phytosterols; profile; dietary intake; β-sitosterol

60

1.

across

different

Phytosterol

regions,

intake

was

ranging

mainly

between

constituted

by

257.7

plant

and

sterols

473.7

and

Introduction

61

Phytosterols are compounds whose structure resembles that of cholesterol with

62

difference in the side chain, such as β-sitosterol with an ethyl group at C-24,

63

campesterol with a methyl group at C-24, or the number of methyl group at C-4 in A

64

ring, for example, cylcoartanol with two methyl groups at C-4 1. Phytosterols are

ACS Paragon Plus Environment

Page 5 of 42

Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry 4

65

mainly found in plant and marine organisms and cannot be synthesized in the human

66

body, while cholesterols were mainly found in animal. After the 3–4 weeks’

67

intervention of daily consumption of 23 g of phytosterols, the serum LDL-cholesterol

68

could decline 10%–15%

69

disorders. Epidemiological and experimental studies have suggested that dietary

70

phytosterols protect from most common cancers in Western societies, such as colon,

71

breast, and prostate cancers 5. Over 250 different sterols exist in free or esterified

72

forms 1 and can be divided into plant sterols and plant stanols based on their degree of

73

saturation, with the latter being the saturated form of the former. Phytosterols can also

74

be classified as 4-desmethylsterols and 4,4’-dimethylsterols based on the number of

75

methyl groups at C-4. The common 4-desmethysterols includes β-sitosterol,

76

campesterol, stigmasterol and brassicasterol, and the common 4,4’-dimethylsterols

77

includes 24-methylene cycloartanol, cycloartenol and cycloartanol.

78

2-4

, thus conferring protection from potential cardiovascular

The difference in structure and form of phytosterols affects their bioactivity, such 6-8

79

as absorption, efficacy of lowering cholesterol levels, and anti-cancer activity

80

Generally, plant stanols are less absorbed than plant sterols

81

cholesterol levels

82

cholesterol-lowering effect while the cholesterol-lowering effect of plant sterols

83

would diminish between 1 and 2 month12. 4-desmethylsterols are more effective at

84

lowering cholesterol levels than 4,4’-dimethylsterols13. Esterified phytosterols must

85

first be hydrolyzed to reduce cholesterol absorption 14. Besides, esterified phytosterols

9-10

.

and equally reduced

11-12

, but O’Neil reported plant stanols could maintain their

ACS Paragon Plus Environment

Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry

Page 6 of 42 5

86

significant reduced the biaoavailability of β-carotene more than that of free

87

phytosterols15. Phytosterols content had been reported, for example, in United States

88

Department of Agriculture (USDA) National Nutrient Database for Standard

89

Reference, individual content of sitosterol, stigmasterol, and campesterol has been

90

reported in only 1.5% of foods, without distinguishing between the free and esterified

91

forms

92

focused on vegetable oils, nuts, and cereals, while little research has been done on

93

legumes, tubers, vegetables, and fruits. For example, Phillips et al. reported the free

94

and esterified phytosterol content of 31 edible oils used in USA and Finland

95

Piironen et al. reported the free and esterified phytosterol content of several cereals

96

used in Finland

97

phytosterol content in nuts and seeds 19-20. Furthermore, Han et al. have quantified the

98

phytosterol content in common plant-derived foods in China

99

evaluated five major phytosterols, without distinguishing between the free or

100

esterified form. The amount of free and esterified phytosterol in common foods in

101

China is still unknown.

16

. When analyzing free and esterified phytosterols, most published reports

17

, and

18

. Researchers have also analyzed the free, esterified, and total

21

, but they have only

102

The recommended daily intake of phytosterols was 2 g by the American Heart

103

Association22 and 2–3 g by National Cholesterol Education Program23, while the

104

natural daily intakes of phytosterols were reported around 100–400 mg/d in western

105

counties24-26. According to Han, the Chinese phytosterols daily intake was 322 mg21.

106

However, all the estimation didn’t distinguish the free and esterified form of

ACS Paragon Plus Environment

Page 7 of 42

Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry 6

107

phytosterols. China has a large population and the dietary patterns differed a lot

108

among regions. The aims of the present study were to determine the individual

109

phytosterol content in free and esterified forms of the common foods, and to estimate

110

the phytosterol intake with different structure in free and esterified form of five

111

regions and total phytosterols intake of different age groups in China.

112

2.

Materials and methods

113

To better estimate the effect of different dietary patterns on phytosterol intake,

114

we chose the following five large cities that represented the north, south, east, west,

115

and center of China, respectively: Beijing, Guangzhou, Hangzhou, Chongqing, and

116

Wuhan. In each of the five regions, we first roughly divided the region into five parts

117

according to the populations, then chose at least five supermarkets in local to get the

118

common food samples. All food samples were obtained from local supermarkets.

119

2.1 Standards and reagents

120

Stigmasterol (95%), β-sitosterol (≥97%), campesterol (98%), brassicasterol

121

(≥95%), ergosterol (98%), campestanol (95%), sitostanol (95%), ∆5-avenasterol

122

(95%), α-spinasterol (97%), cycloartanol (97%), cycloartenol (95%), 24-methylene

123

cycloartanol

124

heptafluorobutyramide (MSHFBA), and 1-methyl imidazole (1-MIM) were purchased

125

from Sigma-Aldrich. Acetone (HPLC), ethanol (AR), diethyl ether (AR), hexane

126

(HPLC), and dichloromethane (AR) were ordered from Merck & Co, Inc.

127

2.2 Lipid extraction

(92%),

5α-cholestane

(≥97%),

ACS Paragon Plus Environment

N-methyl-N-(trimethylsilyl)

Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry

Page 8 of 42 7

128

Cereals, legumes, tubers, and nuts were ground into fine powder and stored at

129

−18°C in sealed bags. Vegetables and fruits were dried under reduced pressure and

130

then frozen and powdered under liquid nitrogen. Except for oils, the moisture content

131

of all the samples was determined and lipids were extracted using Soxhlet extraction

132

method of Chinese National Standard GB 5009.6-2016. Each sample was separated

133

into two part. One part was (approximately 5 g) was used to determine the moisture

134

content and placed in dishes at 103 °C ± 2 °C until constant weight was attained

135

(approximately 8 h). The other part (approximately 2–5 g) was weighed into an

136

extraction vessel and loaded into an Auto-Fat Determinator SZC-C (Shanghai

137

Qianjian, Shanghai, China), then lipids were extracted using 30 mL of petroleum ether,

138

which has a boiling point of 30 °C–60 °C (approximately 6 h). After the solvent was

139

evaporated under nitrogen, the lipid content was stored at −20 °C in the dark for

140

further treatment.

141

2.3 Extraction of free phytosterols

142

With some modifications, free phytosterols were analyzed based on the method 27

143

reported by Esche et al.

144

cartridge (Strata NH2, 55 µm, 70 Å, 1 g/6 mL, Phenomenex, Aschaffenburg,

145

Germany) to activate the column. Then, 50 mg of the crude lipid fraction or vegetable

146

oils containing 50 µg of 5α-cholestane as an internal standard was dissolved in 5 mL

147

of n-hexane and loaded. The fractions of steryl/stanyl fatty acid esters and interfering

148

triglycerides were eluted with 2 × 5 mL of n-hexane/diethyl ether (98:2, v/v) and 4 ×

. Briefly, 2 × 5 mL of n-hexane was loaded onto an SPE

ACS Paragon Plus Environment

Page 9 of 42

Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry 8

149

5 mL of n-hexane/ethyl acetate (96:4, v/v). Next, free sterols/stanols were eluted with

150

2 × 5 mL of n-hexane/ethyl acetate (5:95, v/v), and the solvents were then removed by

151

evaporation under nitrogen. The free phytosterols would be analyzed by gas

152

chromatography–mass spectrometry.

153

2.4 Extraction of total phytosterols

154

The detection of total phytosterols was carried out according to the method of M 28

155

Rudzinska et al.

156

as an internal standard to 20 mg of crude lipid fraction or vegetable oils. Lipids were

157

then saponificated with 1 M KOH/ethanol for 18 h at room temperature

158

(approximately 25 °C). With water and diethyl ether extracting the unsaponifiables,

159

residues were kept after the solvent was removed by nitrogen. The total phytosterols

160

would be analyzed by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry.

161

2.5 Gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS) analysis

with some modifications; e.g., 50 µg of 5α-cholestane was added

162

The phytosterols (free phytosterols extracted in section 2.3 and total phytosterols

163

extracted in section 2.4) were silylated with 100 µL of MTBSTFA/1-MIM (95:5, v/v)

164

at 75°C for 20 min, then dissolved in 1 mL of n-hexane, and analyzed using a

165

7890A-5973N GC–MS system (Agilent Technologies, USA) equipped with a

166

DB-5MS column (30 m × 0.25 mm × 0.25 µm; Agilent Technologies). The oven

167

temperature was initially set at 180°C, held for 1 min, then raised to 290°C at the rate

168

of 40°C/min, and again held for 10 min. Nitrogen was used as carrier gas at a rate of

169

1.6 mL/min. With the positive electron ionization (EI+) in mass spectrometry, the

ACS Paragon Plus Environment

Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry

Page 10 of 42 9

170

electron energy was set at 70 eV and the ion source temperature at 250 °C. The

171

retention time of commercial standards was used to identify phytosterols, and each

172

peak was evaluated by the detection of the parent molecular ion and the fragmentation

173

pattern of its TMS derivative. The trimethyl silylation samples were detected using

174

the Full Scan Mode with m/z = 50–600 and analyzed by the quantitative ions

175

(Supplementary Table 1) in SIM mode.

176

2.6 Estimation of phytosterol intake

177 178 179

The concentration of phytosterols esters was calculated as the difference of the concentration of total phytosterols minus that of free phytosterols. The daily intake of phytosterols were calculated as follows: 

Phytosterols daily intake =  phytosterols concentration in food ∗ food daily intake 

180

The “phytosterols concentration in food” were from the data we determined. The

181

“food daily intakes” data were obtained from “Survey on the Status of Nutrition and

182

Health of Chinese people.” Based on this, we calculated the total phytosterol intake in

183

five regions of China and across different age groups in the national scale. Next, we

184

estimated the intake of phytosterols with different structures and forms, including

185

plant sterols and stanols, 4-desmethylsterols and 4,4’-dimethylsterols, and free and

186

esterified phytosterols.

187

2.7 Statistical analysis

188

All analyses were carried out in triplicate, and the results were expressed as the

189

mean ± standard deviation. The calculations were performed with SPSS for Windows

ACS Paragon Plus Environment

Page 11 of 42

Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry 10

190

version 20.0. To classify the phytosterols profiles in foods, the heatmap was generated

191

in the MetaboAnalyst version 3.5. Figure 1, 2 and 4 were drew in Origin 9.0.

192

3. Results

193

3.1 Phytosterol profiles in common foods

194

3.1.1

Total phytosterols in foods

195

The total phytosterol content greatly varied among foods (Supplementary Table

196

2). Generally, when calculated as dry weight, vegetables oils, legumes, tubers, and

197

nuts were rich in phytosterols, followed by cereals. Vegetables and fruits contained

198

less phytosterol content. Figure 1A illustrates the average total phytosterol content of

199

oils, nuts, cereals, legumes, vegetables, and fruits. The average total phytosterol levels

200

in vegetable oil, tubers, cereals, and nuts were 518.4, 144.2, 130.5, and 99.9 mg/100 g,

201

respectively. Vegetables and fruits had the lowest phytosterol content (24.8 and 22.0

202

mg/100 g, respectively).

203

In vegetable oils, the highest phytosterol content was found in rice oil (1230.9

204

mg/100 g) and the lowest in camellia oil (150.4 mg/100 g). The total phytosterol

205

contents of rapeseed, corn, and sesame oils were 878.6, 712.1, and 652.9 mg/100 g,

206

respectively. For linseed, sunflower seed, peanut, soybean, and olive oils, the total

207

phytosterol content ranged from 280.0 to 352.9 mg/100 g. The most common tubers

208

in China were sweet potato, potato, and Chinese yam, with the average total

209

phytosterol content in dry matter as 140.3, 113.8, and 178.5 mg/100 g, respectively.

210

Other good sources of phytosterols were legumes (129.6–275.6 mg/100 g) and bean

ACS Paragon Plus Environment

Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry

Page 12 of 42 11

211

products (40.5–69.2 mg/100 g). The total phytosterol content of cereals ranged from

212

11.9 to 93.8 mg/100 g. Common cereals can be classified into rice-, wheat-, and other

213

cereal-based products as per the Chinese dietary pattern. In general, rice products

214

contained the highest phytosterol content among cereals, the average being 54.7

215

mg/100 g. Other cereals had a phytosterol content of 34.3 mg/100 g, whereas

216

wheat-based products had the lowest content (23.2 mg/100 g). In nuts, the total

217

phytosterol content ranged from 15.2 mg/100 g in chestnuts to 255.2 mg/100 g in

218

pistachios. In vegetables and fruits, bamboo shoots contained the highest phytosterol

219

levels (95.3 mg/100 g).

220

3.1.2

Free and esterified phytosterols in foods

221

The percentage of free phytosterols is shown in Figure 1B. The composition of

222

free and esterified phytosterols widely varied among foods, with the esterified form

223

being predominant. However, in nuts, 57.0%–76.4% of phytosterols were in the free

224

form. Free phytosterols also predominated in some vegetable oils, such as sunflower

225

seed, peanut, and soybean (range, 55.2%–59.8%), but were found in less quantities in

226

linseed, rice, corn, rapeseed, sesame, olive, and camellia oils (range, 12.5%–42.4%).

227

Most cereals contained more esterified phytosterols than free phytosterols, except

228

buckwheat grains and corn starch, in which free phytosterols constituted 71.3% and

229

63.4%, respectively. In most tubers, legumes, vegetables, and fruits, phytosterols

230

mainly existed in esterified forms. Individual phytosterols were in similar percentage

231

in the free and esterified forms.

ACS Paragon Plus Environment

Page 13 of 42

Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry 12

232

3.1.3

Plant sterols and plant stanols in foods

233

Plant sterols were the main phytosterols in almost all foods. β-sitosterol was the

234

predominant phytosterol in vegetable oils (contributing 32.3%–67.7%), tubers

235

(15.9%–34.6%), legumes (13.2%–34.7%), nuts (61.9%–86.7%), cereals (27.2%–

236

62.4%), vegetables (0.7%–78.6%), and fruits (0.5%–100.0%). Campesterol and

237

stigmasterol were the next predominant phytosterols, although there were some

238

exceptions. For example, rapeseed oil contained more brassicasterol than stigmasterol,

239

whereas α-spinasterol was predominant in spinach, amaranth, cucumber, towel gourd,

240

winter melon, pumpkin, zucchini pumpkin, and watermelon seed kernels.

241

Figure 2 illustrates the distribution of individual phytosterols in vegetable oils,

242

tubers, legumes, nuts, and cereals. In the heat map, we chose Euclidean distance to

243

measure similarity and Ward’s linkage to cluster by minimizing the sum of squares of

244

any two clusters. Heat map is an intuitive visualization method to analyze the

245

distribution of experimental data. In Figure 2, Each small square represents each food

246

sample, and its color indicates the amount of individual phytosterols. The higher the

247

concentation is, the darker the color is (the red is up, the green for down). Each row

248

shows the concentration of each phytosterols in different samples, and each column

249

shows the concentration of all the phytosterols in each sample. The upper tree

250

represents cluster analysis results for different samples and the left tree represents

251

cluster analysis results for different phytosterols from different samples. As shown in

252

the heat map, the foods could be classified into three groups based on the phytosterol

ACS Paragon Plus Environment

Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry

Page 14 of 42 13

253

profile. The first group mostly comprised vegetable oils; the second comprised

254

legumes, tubers, linseed oil, sunflower seed oil, pistachios, pine nuts, pumpkin seed

255

kernels, and watermelon seed kernels; and the third group comprised cereals and most

256

nuts.

257

3.1.4

4-desmethylsterols and 4,4’-dimethylsterols in foods

258

In the study, the calculations of 4-desmethysterols includes β-sitosterol,

259

campesterol, stigmasterol, ∆5-avenasterol, brassicasterol, α-spinasterol, sitostanol,

260

campestanol, ergosterol, and the calculations of 4,4’-dimethylsterols includes

261

24-methylene cycloartanol, cycloartenol and cycloartanol. In most food groups,

262

4-desmethylsterols were predominant. In vegetable oils, 4,4’-dimethylsterol content

263

ranged from 12.0 to 260.0 mg/100g, with rice bran oil containing the highest levels,

264

whereas in nuts, it ranged from 0.4 to 8.2 mg/100 g, contributing to 2.5%–17.1% of

265

the total phytosterol content. In cereals, the 4,4’-dimethylsterol content was around

266

30.0 mg/100 g in rice products, which was almost equal to that of β-sitosterol. In

267

wheat products and other grains, however, this content was